Sunday, December 10, 2006

A situation of being in the right place, right time. These were spotted in the suburb residential area we stopped by for breakfast on a Sunday morning. Pictures were not very clear due to the long distance between the lens and subject and high cropping done to bring you the closeups.

Spotted one, then two and there were three!

12/Dec'06 - Positive identification! These are Crested Goshawks of the Accipiter (Ak-sip-i-ter) family. Scientific name Accipiter Trivirgatus. Normally a forest bird, but has been seen to be doing fairly well in the urban areas where numerous sightings have been made. All they need is a bit of wooded area and have adapted to feed on the rodents and other birds of the urban area.Sincere thanks to Seng and Carol of Nature Owlet, The MNS Shop for providing the identification & information.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Rafflesia (rafle'zhə) , any of a genus (Rafflesia) of parasitic flowering plants native to the rain forests of Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines. The plants have no roots, stems, or leaves, consisting of threadlike growths on the tissues of the Tetrastigma vine that hosts them.

This is a Rafflesia Cantleyi. Compare the size to our Semai guide, Ngah.

The flowers have no leaves and hardly any stem, just a huge speckled five-petaled flower with a diameter up to 106 cm, and weighing up to 10 kg. The flowers will only last for 2-3 days then it will start to turn black and wilt. That is when it will smell like rotting meat, hence its local names which translate to "corpse flower" or "meat flower".

From seed to bud, it takes no less than about one and a half years while from bud to full bloom takes another nine months! The seeds germinate and spread fine threads inside the vine.

Three stalks of flowers :) Thanks to Moggie for ID'ing the orchid.The first one that started (longest hanging below) seems to be still going strong.The blurry stalk is the latest to start blooming just a week back.

This is what the tip of the stalk looks like... It just keeps going and going and going ... like the energizer bunny.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Many things are infectious. Some good, some bad and some debateable (like yawning). For now, feeling grateful for friends near and far is very infectious. I like to dedicate some photos to some of those friends whose blogs I visit almost daily.

This is for Whisky; They say every cloud has a silver lining. Sometimes, it is gold.

For Moggie; The underwater spider that you missed.

Specially for Ladyhawk; There will always be wind beneath your wings.{Note: This is a picture of a sea-eagle though}

This flower for Sandra; For sharing the beauty captured on your lens and the sweet comments you leave on our blogs.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Monday, October 16, 2006

My house had an uninvited guest.. came in unnoticed, hid behind some stuff and was discovered when the curtains could not conceal its form. However, it was no homosapien with malice intent.

A musang (civet cat) had wandered in through the upstairs window earlier and my guess it got confused in an unfamiliar surroundings i.e. no trees and bushes. Maybe it was exploring and still being a juvenile, curiousity got the better of it.

While I was glad to see the 'wildlife', this was still my room and I did not want to wake up to find it snuggling up to me. So I tried to cox it with a carrot to come out. It didn't work the way I expected to. Rather than find the carrot enticing, it started to back away from the carrot like it was something revolting. Change of plans; Use the carrot to drive it towards the window or balcony door. Whatever works...

"Oops, I've been found out!"

"Now how did I get in and more important, how do I get out?"

Highway to the exit."Boy mummy's not going to like it when she finds out."